Melody Goes Silent: Asha Bhosle Passes Away at 92

Legendary Singer Asha Bhonsle, who is regarded as the voice of Bollywood for her mellifluous vocals, has passed away at the age of 92 in Mumbai. She breathed her last in ICU after getting admitted to Breach Candy Hospital on Saturday due to cardiac and respiratory complications. The news was confirmed by her son Anand Bhonsle on Sunday afternoon. 

Asha Bhosle is one of the prolific singers of Independent India. Sister of iconic playback singer Latha Mangeshkar, Asha has the rare distinction for lending vocals to over 20 Indian and foreign languages apart from Hindi in her career spanning over seven decades. She has recorded more than 12000 songs and ruled the roost during her heydays with an stellar career. 

Born in 1933 in the princely state of Sangli ( now Maharashtra), she started her singing career with the help of her sister Latha Mangeshkar at a tender age to support her family. She made her singing debut in 1943 with Marathi film Majha Bal. Later, she made her entry into Bollywood in 1948. At the age of 16, she married Ganpatrao Bhosle. She later married composer Rahul Dev. 

Though Asha Bhonsle initially inclined towards singing fast paced dance numbers of Bollywood, she later diversified her talent by giving vocals to ghazals, traditional songs, pop music, folk songs, classical numbers and devotional bhajans. She even made her acting debut in 2013 with Mai. 

For her stupendous contribution to the field of cinema, Asha Bhonsle was rewarded with the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke award by the government of India in 2000. She also become the first Indian singer to be nominated for the coveted Grammy Award in 1997. She was honoured with the much revered Padma Vibhushan for her illuminating career. 

Asha Bhosle was officially acknowledged by the Guinness Book of World Records for recording most number of songs in its history. She also featured in BBC list of 100 inspiring women in 2015 and holds numerous doctorates from various universities. She was the recipient of several Filmfare Awards and two time National Awards for her works. 

Some of her evergreen songs include Garibon ki Suno, Piya Tu Ab To Aaja, Parde Mein Rehne Do, Yeh Mera Dil, Le Gayi, In Ankhon Ki Masti, Tanha Tanha, Radha Kaise Na Jale, Kahin Aag Lage.